Brexit: some implications for African higher education

This article considers how the decisions of the UK government, following the Brexit referendum, may impact on higher education in Africa. Ghana and South Africa are the two countries chosen to exemplify the claim that academic staff in African higher education will lose opportunities to acquire experience in British universities. Academic mobility between Africa and the UK is expected to fall significantly following Brexit.     

Education and social change in Spain: from crisis to opportunity

This paper analyses a particular socio-educational experience in a marginalised neighbourhood in Malaga, Spain. This initiative came about as an institutional proposal to combat neoliberal austerity policies and is known as the ‘Casa de la Buena Vida'. It aims to generate new educational practices based on solidarity, dignity and justice. The methodology followed entailed carrying out an ethnography at this institution, participating in the initiative over a period of 4 years. At the same time, life histories of some of its most notable members were drawn up. In the results section we offer an analysis of the particular identities that are created as a consequence of the living conditions, social conflicts, multicultural nature and survival strategies that operate in a welfarist policy system. We also analyse this institution's socio-educational proposal using alternative social practices that enable other subjectivities to develop.     

新时期图书馆员应具有的素质

新时期图书馆作为知识和信息传播与交流的中心,将面临着一系列新情况、新挑战.同时,对图书馆员的素质提出了新的更高的要求.图书馆员要具有思想政治素质、职业道德素质、心理素质、业务素质.     

CAVEman: Standardized anatomical context for biomedical data mapping

The authors have created a software system called the CAVEman, for the visual integration and exploration of heterogeneous anatomical and biomedical data. The CAVEman can be applied for both education and research tasks. The main component of the system is a three‐dimensional digital atlas of the adult male human anatomy, structured according to the nomenclature of Terminologia Anatomica. The underlying data‐indexing mechanism uses standard ontologies to map a range of biomedical data types onto the atlas. The CAVEman system is now used to visualize genetic processes in the context of the human anatomy and to facilitate visual exploration of the data. Through the use of Java? software, the atlas‐based system is portable to virtually any computer environment, including personal computers and workstations. Existing Java tools for biomedical data analysis have been incorporated into the system. The affordability of virtual‐reality installations has increased dramatically over the last several years. This creates new opportunities for educational scenarios that model important processes in a patient's body, including gene expression patterns, metabolic activity, the effects of interventions such as drug treatments, and eventually surgical simulations. Anat Sci Ed 1:10–18, 2008. © 2007 American Association of Anatomists.     

Organisational and training factors affecting academic teacher training outcomes

University teacher training has become an important topic in recent years due to the curricular and methodological reforms introduced by the Bologna process. Despite its acknowledged importance, evaluations have been limited to measures of participants’ satisfaction, and little is known about its impact on teaching practices. This study seeks to analyse the effects of the different delivery methods used during workshops that aim to enhance academic teachers’ pedagogical competence and teaching practices. Moreover, the study analyses to what extent individual characteristic and job requirement also have an effect on training outcomes. The study draws on data collected through a self-reported questionnaire administered to academic teachers two years after they participated in training workshops at a Spanish university (n?=?204). The results show that specific delivery methods have a significant effect on the outcome variables, especially those related to the design of learning activities and assessment tools.     

Teachers’ moral values and their interpersonal relationships with students and cultural competence

This study explored whether and how teachers’ beliefs about moral values are reflected in the student-teacher relationships (i.e. levels of control and affiliation in teachers’ and students’ perceptions of this relationship), and in teachers’ cultural competence. A positive association was found between teachers’ paternalist beliefs and their own perceptions of control. A negative association was found between teachers’ liberal beliefs and students’ perceptions of affiliation. Positive associations were found between teachers’ liberal beliefs and the metacognitive and motivational components of cultural competence. We discuss the implications for preparation of teachers to reflect on the manifestations of their beliefs in practice.     

Social interaction learning strategies,motivation, first-year students’ experiences and permanence in university studies*

Applying a structural equations modelling methodology, the study analyses the relationships and effects of self-regulated learning (social interaction learning strategies and motivation) and first-year university experiences on permanence in the sophomore year. The participants are 239 first-year students in different Engineering degrees at a public university in south-eastern Spain. Two alternative structural models are evaluated, showing the superiority of the model where first-year university experiences completely mediate the effects of self-regulated learning on permanence. Motivation and social interaction learning strategies show direct effects on first-year university experiences, and first-year university experiences, in turn, show direct effects on permanence; additionally, both motivation and social interaction learning strategies have indirect effects on permanence via first-year university experiences. The noteworthy theoretical implications of the results are discussed, as well as the teaching methodology and support services provided to first-year university students.     

Characterisation of best practices in the development of cross-curricular competences in Vocational Education and Training: case study in the Basque Country

This paper presents the most important results of a research project aimed at gathering empirical evidence on current efforts to foster and develop cross-curricular competences (CCC) in Vocational Education and Training (VET) Centres located in the Basque Country (Spain). The case study research method was used, with data being gathered by means of a questionnaire completed by 473 teachers from 61 centres, as well as 16 group interviews with management teams, 16 discussion groups with students and 4 with teachers, and 3 in-depth interviews. Three general conclusions can be drawn from the results: (1) There is no common way of understanding or defining CCCs among the teachers–students–management teams of VET centres; (2) Cycles are the ideal context in which to develop processes of pedagogical change which incorporate work on CCCs in an integrated manner; and (3) Assessment continues to be the most problematic curricular element. The study also highlights a more specific set of conclusions related to organisational characteristics, the teaching–learning process and the dynamics of educational innovation.